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United Nations General Assembly Resolution 49/118 on Fisheries Bycatch and Discards and Their Impact on the Sustainable Use of the World's Living Marine Resources, New York, 1994

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Done at New York 19 December 1994
Primary source citation: Copy of text provided by the United Nations

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United Nations General Assembly Resolution 49/118 (1994) 49/118

"Fisheries bycatch and discards and their impact on the sustainable use of the world's living marine resources Date: 19 December 1994 Meeting: 92 Adopted without a vote Report: A/49/729/Add.6

"The General Assembly,

"Recognizing that in relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, States are called upon to take into consideration, when establishing conservation and management measures for target fisheries, the effects on associated or dependent species, taking into account the best scientific evidence available,

"Recalling that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the International Conference on Responsible Fishing, held in Cancun, Mexico, also in 1992, agreed to promote the development and use of selective fishing gears and practices that minimized waste in the catch of target fish species and minimized bycatch of non-target fish and non-fish species,

"Recalling also that the World Fisheries Conference, held in Athens in 1992, discussed various aspects of the fisheries discard issue,

"Noting the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on fisheries bycatch and discards in the development of an international code of conduct for responsible fishing and the fact that the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks is considering provisions on fisheries bycatch and discards,

"Recognizing the efforts that international organizations and members of the international community have made to reduce bycatch and discards in fishing operations and the need for continued international cooperation in this field,

"Recognizing also that improvements in monitoring and assessing bycatch and discards and in bycatch reduction techniques continue to be necessary,

1. "Notes the important role that fisheries play in contributing to a sustainable food supply and livelihood of present and future generations;

2. "Believes that the issue of bycatch and discards in fishing operations warrants serious attention by the international community;

3. "Also believes that a continued and effective response to the issue of addressing fisheries bycatch and discards is necessary so as to ensure the long-term and sustainable development of fisheries, taking into account the relevant principles contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development;

4. "Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to formulate fisheries bycatch and discard provisions in its international code of conduct for responsible fishing, taking into account work being done elsewhere;

5. "Invites the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks to elaborate fisheries bycatch and discard provisions, taking into account work being done elsewhere;

6. "Invites relevant subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to review, within their respective competences, the impact of fisheries bycatch and discards on the sustainable use of living marine resources, taking into account, as appropriate, the relevant deliberations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with respect to the international code of conduct for responsible fishing and the relevant deliberations of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks;

7. "Decides to consider this question at its fiftieth session, under the item entitled "Environment and sustainable development".